Sometimes things just happen
by WritingAurora
Summary: Judy is a high school student with big dreams. Nick is a delinquent without a care in the world. The two have never quite liked each other, but what happens when Nick becomes the main suspect for a murder? Can Judy prove his innocence, before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I'm back! For those of you who have read my other fanfic, Here and Now, I'm so sorry for not updating in such a long time. I simply haven't found the inspiration.**

 **This story is a highschool AU where Nick and Judy are the same age.**

 **I do not own anything else than the plot in this story. Everything else belongs to Disney.**

 **I do not own the cover picture.**

 **Enjoy!**

Being Judy Hopps wasn't always easy. Not only because she was a rabbit, and most mammals took rabbits for granted, but also because most mammals that heard about her lifegoal merely laughed at her. Her, a bunny, who wanted to become a police officer more than anything else. Imagine that. It seemed most couldn't, and just laughed it off with a smile and a dismissive wave off their hand.

But being Judy Hopps also meant not knowing when to quit. And she was determined to become a police officer. She knew she would have to fight more than most, but it didn't matter because-

"Daydreaming again, are we Carrots?" a voice woke Judy up from her haze. A very irritating and annoying voice. The voice of Nick Wilde in fact, one of the school's delinquents. Always up to something. He sat on her right, giving her his signature smirk. Judy gave him an annoyed look in return.

" _Don't_ call me Carrots."

"Oh, but I like calling you Carrots, _Carrots._ "

Judy merely sighed and turned her attention to the teacher in front of her.

"So, today you will start a new assignment." the teacher said. "I expect you to have a ten minutes' presentation ready by next Friday. The topic is the Zootopian revolution. No less than six minutes, no more than fourteen."

The teacher began to team up everyone in two's.

"Caroline and Lola…. Finnick and Rachel…... Judy and Benjamin…"

At this, Judy turned to look at her friend Benjamin Clawhauser with a smile on her face. The overweight cheetah smiled in return and gave a thumbs up.

Mrs. Jumbeaux teamed up everyone else, and the class was finished. As the bell rang, Judy collected her things and swiftly jumped out of her seat. The rush of the students nearly knocked her over though, and she collided right into Nick.

"Wow, Carrots, I didn't know you wanted to run your hands all over me. You should have told me sooner!"

Nick smirked at her with an amused look in his eyes.

"What? No, I would never want to... I mean, why would you even say… I mean… Just bugger off, Wilde!"

The fox laughed and turned towards the exit, where he met up with his friend, Finnick.

Later, at lunch, Judy took a seat next to Clawhauser and Fru Fru, another friend of hers who also happened to be an arctic shrew. But inside that small mammal was a big personality, that was certain.

"So, Judy." Fru Fru said just as Judy dug into her vegetarian casserole.

"Mhm?" Judy said with her mouth full off food.

"Who are you bringing to the Winter Sparkle?"

Winter Sparkle was the ridiculously named winter ball that was to take place a month later. Judy wasn't very keen on going, but Fru Fru and Ben had talked her into it.

She swallowed before she answered. "I thought we were all going together? Right? That's what we decided."

"Well, yeah." Clawhauser began. "But, umm, we kind of got dates."

"Both of you?" Judy disbelievingly. Not that she didn't believe that her friends couldn't get dates, more that they had both gotten them inn 24 hours.

"When?" she exclaimed.

After that followed fifteen minutes of Clawhauser gushing about this tiger he had met. Judy got excited for him, but couldn't help but get a little disappointed that he was ditching her on prom night. She then asked about Fru Fru's date.

"I decided to gather all of my courage, and I asked Luke. I did it! I really did it! We're going as friends, but I don't care. I asked him and he said yes. Sorry for leaving you alone, though. We'll just have to find someone for you too. Maybe Sam? Or Matthew? He's nice."

Luke was the hamster that Fru had been crushing on for almost a year. It was about time that arctic shrew asked him out, even if it was just as friends.

Judy smiled. "No, it's okay. Really."

She didn't her friends answer, and instead switched to safer subjects. For example, she suggested she and Fru Fru should have a sleepover the next day. Fru Fru excitedly agreed and insisted on them going to her place. Some time later, they got up from their table and exited the cafeteria (with Fru Fru sitting on Clawhauser's shoulder).

"Meet you at the entrance after school? We should get started on our project" Clawhauser said.

"Yeah, sure." Judy answered as they parted ways.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Calculus, biology and physics. The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. As Judy walked the corridors to her locker, she sighed and bit her lip. She had gotten lots of homework, and it would take all evening to finish it. Her left foot thumped against the floor in annoyance.

"And we meet again, Fluff. But jeez, what got you so worked up?"

Judy sighed heavily. Not him _again_.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Judy said through gritted teeth. Her violet eyes peered up at the fox.

"Why, I only want to talk to you Fluff!" Nick said, putting a hand on his chest and looking affronted. "And well, if I am to be completely honest with you, I might have wanted to irritate you as well."

"Well you succeeded. Can you leave me alone now?"

Nick thought. "Only if you ask nicely."

"Please?" Judy said, fuming.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

Judy just ignored him and got the things out of her locker. She shut it and turned around to shoo Nick off, surprised to see that he had already left. She composed herself quickly though, and walked off towards the entrance where Clawhauser stood waiting. He greeted her happily and asked about the rest of her day. She answered saying she had gotten about half a ton of homework, too which Clawhauser laughed.

"Well, lucky me, I've only got our presentation about the Zootopian revolution and a one-page essay about the mayor of Zootopia, due Wednesday next week."

Judy stuck her tongue out at him. They walked together towards the bus stop.

"So, where are we studying? Me or you?" asked Judy.

"You. Your mom must be one of the greatest cooks of our time."

Two hours later, and they were sitting in Judy's room, looking up facts for their project. Suddenly, Clawhauser sighed.

"Nope. I am not doing this anymore. We need a break."

"But we haven't even read this entire article."

"We've been at this, looking up a trizillion facts, for two hours straight now. And I don't know about you, but I'm taking a break."

Clawhauser scrambled up from his position on the floor and exited her room. Judy stayed back a few minutes and finished reading the article. When she got out of her room she was met with the smell of carrot stew. She found Clawhauser, Bonnie, Stu, and 23 of her 27 siblings seated at the table. After taking a seat by Clawhauser, she helped herself to some stew.

After dinner, Clawhauser excused himself and said he had to go home. He hugged Judy and waved her family goodbye, and then exited through the front door. Afterwards, Judy helped her mom with the dishes. She piled up a few plates in the sink and started rinsing them.

"Mom, could I go over to Fru Fru's place tomorrow for a sleepover?"

"No, sweetie. We're having dinner guests, in fact, and you don't want to miss it."

"Oh." Judy said, not hiding her disappointment. She had looked forward to having a sleepover with Fru Fru. "Is it the Warrens?" she continued whilst washing another set of plates. Her mom started drying the ones Judy had already cleaned with a cloth and a swift movement of her hand.

"No actually, it isn't. It's the family of a co-worker from your father's work."

Judy nodded. Sometimes they had dinner with her father's colleagues and their respective families. When it was bunny families, it was quite a gathering, since not everyone could find a babysitter for dozens of bunnies. It was rather tiresome, but Judy had to admit it could be fun at times.

"Oh, alright."

"I'm sure you will have a good time." Bonnie smiled at her seventeen-year-old daughter. "They have a son about your age, you two will get along just fine."

The rest of the evening was filled with homework. Judy yawned and looked at the clock. It was a quarter past eleven. Stretching out her sore limbs, Judy rose from her desk and made herself ready for bed. Once back in her room -that she shared with a sister from the same litter as her, Janine- she texted Fru Fru.

 **Fru! Remember the sleepover I was talking about?**

A minute or so later her phone buzzed, and Fru Fru's name lit up on the screen.

 **Y** ** _es? I have already planned it all, we're going to have so much fun!_**

Judy grimaced as she wrote.

 **I'm so sorry... We're having guests over for dinner and mom says I have to stay.**

 ** _Oh no... Anyone you know?_**

 **I don't think so. Mum said it was a colleague of my dad, and that they had a son about my age.**

Her phone buzzed yet again.

 ** _Ohhh! Maybe it's a handsome buck ;) If it is you should totes ask him to Winter Sparkle!_**

Judy rolled her eyes at Fru's comment.

 **Is that all you think about? The Winter Sparkle?**

 ** _No. I think about Luke too. And well... you know… other stuff._**

 **Other stuff?**

 ** _Umm. I'll tell you tomorrow! It's something I've been thinking about for quite a long time._**

 **Well now you** ** _have_** **to tell me!**

 ** _I won't, I want to speak to you properly, irl._**

 **Fine... Anyway, I should probs go to sleep now. Talk to you tomorrow, don't forget!**

 ** _I won't. Goodnight Judy! xoxo_**

Judy smiled at her phone. Yet she couldn't help but wonder what Fru Fru had meant. Was something wrong? She furrowed her brows and put down her phone. Janine entered the room, and as they said goodnight to each other Judy turned off the lights.

If she only knew what was yet to come.

 **And that was the first chapter! Did you like it? Give a review! Didn't you like it?** **Leave a review and tell me how to improve it!**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! So many reviews, favorites and follows! Thanks 3**

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot in this story, everything else belongs to Disney.**

 **Enjoy!**

"I want three more laps around the field!" shouted Mr. Howell.

Judy panted as she sped up her pace. Mr. Howell was always pushing his students to the limit, and today was no exception. As she passed an otter, she thought about the long hot shower she would take afterwards. That was, if she was alive by then.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a mammal running up beside her. She recognised him immediately.

"Surprised to actually see you in class, Wilde. Haven't you skipped P.E. for, how long now, five weeks?"

"I'm flattered that you keep track, Carrots." Nick said. "Actually I'm only here cause Mr. Howell said he'd flunk me otherwise. And he is a man of his word."

"Interesting." Judy said. "I didn't know you cared about grades."

"I don't, actually." Nick responded. "But my parents do, and if I fail a class I'll get grounded. And I wouldn't want my customers to be kept waiting, would I?"

Nick smirked and winked at her. Judy wasn't sure if she wanted to know just what type of customers he was talking about, but she had a pretty good idea. Instead she shook her head and then sped up even more, leaving Nick behind. She raced the last three laps as fast as she could. Mr. Howell commented that she was twelve seconds from her record –You aren't getting slow, are you, Hopps?- and then told her to hit the showers. Tiredly, she walked the short way to the girls' locker rooms. The room was divided into different sections, with the smaller mammals having their lockers the furthest down the hall and the farthest away from the showers. She quickly got to her locker, undressed and took her towel out of her bag. The thought of being naked around other mammals made her nervous, even if it only was girls in the locker room, but she was alone. She hopped into the shower, letting out a small scream when cold, hard water hit her. After a while though, the waters temperature had risen, and she started showering, grumpily muttering about how the school should really buy better showers.

Twenty minutes later she was standing in the corridor, a little unsure of what to do. She had finished earlier than all the others, so the corridors where all empty. After a few seconds of just standing there, outside of the door, she decided to just go to her locker. As she made her way to it, the bell rang, and students poured out. One of those students where Benjamin Clawhauser.

"Judy!" he exclaimed as he saw her. "I have barely seen you all day!"

"Hi, Ben." Judy responded. "Yeah, me too. After history I just kind of lost you."

Clawhauser stood on his toes and searched the crowd.

"Have you seen Fru anywhere? She told me she couldn't meet up with us for lunch today."

"Oh, yeah. She's got a dentist appointment."

"How did I not know that?" Clawhauser asked as he looked back at Judy, who just shrugged in response. Clawhauser pulled up his phone, probably to text Fru Fru. When he was done, he asked if Judy knew when it was lunch time.

"Umm…" Judy looked at the schedule that was plastered onto the door of her locker. "There's one more lesson first. For me, criminology. For you… I don't know."

"I'm going to go and check. See you at lunch though!" Clawhauser said as he walked away from the small bunny. The bunny in person gathered all her books and went to her classroom.

"Today" the teacher began "we are going to talk about Sociological positivism. Basically, sociological positivism means that mammals with societal factors such as low levels of education or poverty, are more likely to commit actions of crime than those who do not have these societal factors."

Judy opened her notebook and started writing down notes from the teacher's speech.

"This means, that proper schooling lowers crime rates by _a lot_."

 _Maybe Nick should spend more time studying and less time skipping school, then,_ Judy thought to herself. She then wondered why one earth she had started to think about Nick.

This was Judy's favourite subject. She listened with interest to what the teacher said, and she made notes –which of course she did in all subjects, interesting or not- so as to not forget anything. The lesson ended, she got an assignment, and she exited the classroom.

"Oh, cricket pot pie, my favourite!" Clawhauser said happily when they entered the canteen.

"And kale pot pie for me." Judy said. She looked at the food the other students were eating. "Looks good."

After grabbing a plate each full of food, they got seated at their usual table. Clawhauser informed Judy that he had chatted with _his_ tiger, Matt, all evening when he had gotten home from Judy's. Apparently they were to have a coffee date Saturday afternoon.

"But the problem is, I don't know what to wear." The cheetah stated glumly. "If I dress too nicely I'll look desperate and if I dress too casually it'll look like I don't care."

"You won't look desperate nor will you look 'too casual'." Judy reassured him. "Just go with the stuff you usually wear. I mean, it's just for coffee, it's not a dinner date. Perhaps you could go for that purple shirt of yours and a pair of jeans, or khakis perhaps. But don't stress it, if he really likes you he won't care whether you come in sweatpants or a tux."

Clawhauser gave her a nervous nod, and commented that, sure, he guessed she was right, but that he didn't want to look like an idiot.

"You won't." Judy promised.

They finished eating, and then left the cafeteria. Clawhauser said he wanted some fresh air, so Judy followed him outside.

The schoolyard wasn't that big, but it sufficed. There was a patch of grass and some trees, a building used for storing, a basketball court on hard concrete, and a few hundred yards away, the football field and the running tracks. Yet it was a welcome break from the fuzz and buzz of Zootopia. Ben breathed in and out a few times and then checked his watch.

"We have another twenty minutes until the first lesson starts." Clawhauser then said. As a response, Judy walked to a bench nearby and sat down. Clawhauser followed suit. They probably looked like an odd pair, sitting there on the bench; a small, grey rabbit and a big cheetah.

The sky was a threatening dark grey, it would probably start pouring down any minute. Judy suddenly wished that she had brought an umbrella. She supposed no one else had either, as she and Ben seemed to be the only ones out.

Neither of them really knew what to say, so they just kept quiet. But it wasn't one of those awkward silences. No, it was a comfortable one, one of those silences that you have with friends that you're close to.

Judy closed her eyes and rested her head on the bench behind her. It had been a tough week, long school days and lots of homework. But the school year was almost over. Only one and a half more months to go. Then it would be the Christmas vacation with both Christmas itself and New Year's Eve. Another one and a half years of school, and she would be ready for the Zootopia Police Academy. When she thought about it like that, all those years of studying, it was exhausting. So much work, so few brakes. She was in luck, though, as she had Clawhauser and Fru Fru to keep her company on all those hardworking days. Although, Fru Fru was already a senior, so after the spring term she would start at a university in Little Rodentia. The arctic shrew had so far refused to tell Judy what major she would choose though, much to Judy's disappointment.

As the grey rabbit yawned, she saw three mammals standing in the shadows of the storage building. She squinted her eyes at the figures and made out a small fennec fox, a bigger red one, and a timber wolf.

 _What are they doing?_ she thought. Curiously, she tip-toed closer. They were about a hundred yards from her, so they couldn't see her as she slowly got nearer them.

"Judy!" Clawhauser whispered from his seat. "What are you doing?"

The closer she got, the clearer she heard the voices. To ensure not to be seen, she walked along the buildings wall.

"So, you got the money or not?" a deep voice said. It sounded like Finnick, a sand coloured fennec fox that she had History with.

"I ain't giving you no money until _you_ two give me the stuff."

Judy carefully peered out from behind the wall. In front of her, she saw Nick, Finnick and a wolf she didn't know the name of. Nick held a plastic bag in his hand. It was coloured, so you couldn't see its contents. Judy carefully reached inside her left pocket, where she always kept her carrot pen. She clicked on the recording button.

"C'mon, just hand over the money, and then we will hand over the bag." she heard Nick say.

For a couple of minutes, no one spoke. But Judy didn't dare to peek out from behind the buildings corner to see what they were doing in fear of getting caught.

 _I should probably go back,_ she thought. _I've seen enough._

"I'll contact you when I need more." the timber wolf said. Then, steps quickly getting closer.

 _Damnit, he's coming closer._

Judy quickly turned around and, but before she had even taken a step, the wolf called out to her.

"Hey! What where you looking at, bunny?"

Turning around, she frantically searched her brain for a believable lie. She was just taking a walk? She just wanted to say hi? If she didn't come up with one right at that moment she would be in big trouble.

"I... um…" Judy started. "I was just taking a walk, and then I saw my umm… My great friend Nick over there, and um… I just kind of thought I would go over and say hi. But then I… I realised I had forgotten something in my locker so…"

She really needed to sharpen up her lying ability. If someone would have told her that lie, she would have laughed in their face. And that was exactly what the timber wolf did.

"Your great friend Nick? As if he would be friends with a little bunny like you." he then turned around towards Nick and Finn. "Hey, Nick! You know this girl?"

Nick walked over to the wolf, who nodded his head in Judy's direction. Nick's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Fluffbutt? Yeah, I know her. Hey, fuzzy bunny."

Judy started grinding her teeth. It took all her willpower not to scold him for calling her both Fluffbutt _and_ fuzzy bunny. But Nick was her only way out of this mess, so now was not the time. She would have to save the lecture for later.

"Well, she saw us dealing, she might tell someone. And I can't afford to make my record any longer."

Nick thought for a bit. "You go, I've got this." he said after a while.

During their conversation, Finnick had walked up to them. His head had been darting between Nick and Judy.

Muttering something along the lines off "You better fix this right now", the wolf wandered off. Finnick dragged Nick down to his eyelevel and engaged in an intense conversation that, because of the hushed voices and weird phrasings –probably to make sure she didn't understand what they were talking about-, Judy couldn't hear. Just as she had decided to turn around and go back to Clawhauser, who either had left or had had the luck to go unnoticed-, Nick turned to her.

"Carrots." he said.

"Caught red-handed, are we?" Judy said in response, ignoring the nickname.

"You cannot tell a soul about this, ok?" Nick said seriously. "I will be in deep trouble if you do. As will Finn and Will."

"Was that drugs?" Judy simply asked.

"Look, I'm not doing it, I'm only _dealing_ with it. Now what's important is that you" at this he pointed towards Judy "won't tell _anyone_. Capiche?"

"What you did was _illegal_. Do you expect me to just ignore that?"

Suddenly, the bell rang. Nick and Judy looked at each other.

"Listen. I don't want to be late. But this conversation is not over yet." Judy said, starting to make her way back to the doors that would lead her inside.

"Oh. And by the way." she added before she was out of earshot. "You _do not_ call me Fluffbutt."

Nick didn't answer. He only looked at her.

The rabbit glanced towards the bench. Clawhauser was still there.

"Come on, Ben."

With a click of a button, Judy stopped the recording.

School had just ended, and Clawhauser was nervously biting on his sweater.

"Stop doing that, you'll ruin it." Judy said.

"I'm just nervous. What are we going to do? Should we tell someone? Should we not tell someone? What would happen to us if we did?"

"Calm down Ben. For now, we do nothing. And don't worry, I recorded everything." Judy said. She was still unsure on what it was exactly that she would do with the recording. The important thing at the moment was that she had proof.

"Really? That's actually a really smart move. Nice work, Judy."

"Thanks."

On the bus ride home, Judy decided to text Fru Fru.

 **Where have you been all day? A dentist appointment doesn't take that long!**

She got an answer relatively quickly.

 ** _I decided to take the rest of the day off. Come on, it wasn't like I didn't deserve it. And I found these leopard print jeggings that are TO DIE FOR._**

 **You promised to tell me something though, remember?**

 ** _Oh, right! I'm so sorry, I totally forgot. Come to my place tomorrow? We could even have a sleepover if you wanted to._**

 **Yes, sure, that would be great! I'll ask mom and dad when I get home. I actually have something really important to tell you too.**

She put her phone back in the pocket of her jeans and rested her head against the bus seat. Before she knew it, it was her stop. Saying goodbye to Clawhauser, she got off the train and walked the short way home.

Entering the house, she saw her mom, Bonnie Hopps, sitting in the living room, working. Her mom had recently started a company that sold handmade knitted clothes. It didn't make a lot of profit, but it did add some money to their savings. She only got a few orders a week, so she still had plenty of time to take care of all the kits in the family. Previously, her work had simply been to be a housebun, looking after the house and the family, but Judy had convinced her to try out something new. A few of her siblings were scattered around the room as well, doing homework, texting or just chatting with each other.

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, sweetie." she looked up from the computer and smiled at her daughter. "How was school?"

"Umm… Different." Judy said, thinking back to the incident in the school yard.

"Good. Now our guests are coming in about an hour, so I suggest you go take a shower and put on something nice."

"Okay, mom." Judy walked up to Bonnie and kissed her on the cheek. She then got up the stairs to her room.

Half an hour later, Judy stood in front of her wardrobe, wrapped in a towel. Her family had these kind of dinners relatively often, so Judy knew from experience it was best to choose something pretty and polished, yet not too dressed up. Eventually, she chose a cute, light blue empire dress. Mascara was put on, fur was brushed, and she considered herself done.

As if only waiting for her to finish getting ready, the doorbell rang almost immediately afterwards. Judy hurried down the stairs, for she couldn't deny that she was curious about whom it may be. And if she wanted to be the one opening the door, she had to hurry.

"I'll get the door!" she shouted to the household.

There came another knock. As Judy came to a stop outside the front door, she took a deep breath to collect herself. Then, she opened the door to let the guests in.

Outside stood three mammals. Their species shocked her, yet that wasn't what surprised her the most. She looked straight at one of them.

"Nick?"

 **Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm shocking myself, really. Three updates in three days? Dope.**

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot in this story, everything else belongs to Disney.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Judy?" Nick exclaimed, disbelievingly.

The two mammals stared at each other. After a few seconds of awkwardness –Nick's parents were looking from Nick to Judy and then back again, and Judy's parents soon walked up to the door, noticing the weird tension lying in the air- they broke their stare.

"I…" Judy began. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Same thing for me. I didn't even know I'd be dining with… bunnies."

More awkward silence. Then, Bonnie decided to do something, and welcomed the family of foxes inside.

"Oh, how rude we are!" she said. "Leaving you to stand out in the rain. Come on in, welcome!"

The three foxes walked inside. Bonnie told them where they could leave their jackets and umbrellas, and everyone walked into the living room. There, most of Judy's siblings sat around, waiting for the guests. Some of the younger kits ran around, chasing each other. Judy glanced towards Nick, who's ears flattened and eyes widened at the sight of so many bunnies. She smiled to herself.

Bonnie gestured towards the couches, where the Wilde's, Bonnie, Stu, and some of their kids sat down.

After that followed some basic introductions. John Wilde worked at the same company as Stu, and his wife, Mary, was between jobs. Apparently, Stu and John had met when Stu was moved to another part of the office building. He admitted to being wary of befriending a fox at first, but he had soon found out that John was kinder than most. They often chatted at work, until Stu suggested that the Wilde's should come over for dinner someday. And so, a date was set and preparations made.

Mary then looked between Nick and Judy. "I take it you two know each other already?"

"Yes, we go to the same school." Judy answered, trying to stay her usual perky self. But the thought of having _Nick_ in her home, Nick who always bothered her and apparently also was a _drug dealer_ , now that made Judy just a tad out of it.

"Oh! Well that's nice." Mary said cheerfully. "You share a lot of classes?"

"Some." Judy said plainly.

Stu and John started talking about something work-related, and Mary, Bonnie and Janine engaged in a conversation of their own. Her mom did look rather uncomfortable, as she wasn't used to a family of foxes being in her home. But she tried her best to act casual about it. It took all of Judy's willpower not to stare at Nick, so she turned her gaze towards the ceiling fan. She had almost forgotten that they had one. It had a beige colour and was rather small. Probably made a decade or so ago. Perhaps it was from that big electric store. But was the store even built a decade ago?

"Fluffy!" a baby-like voice woke Judy up from her daze. She turned towards the sound. The sight she saw made her want to laugh. One of her younger siblings, grabbing hold of Nick's fluffy tail. More kits gathered, and one of them even climbed up towards his lap.

"They seem to like you." Judy commented, smiling amusedly. "But don't fret, though, they're probably just after your tail. And time. And, well, okay, they'll probably stay close to you all evening."

Nick had a terrified expression on his face as the bunnies climbed and played on him. He then looked at Judy with a look that said "What should I do?". Judy just snickered. The bunnies were pulling on his tail and putting their small hands in his mouth to feel his teeth. Mary and John noticed and started laughing.

"Ouch!" Nick said suddenly. Will, a toddler with a lot of biting-tendencies, had apparently tried to eat his finger. Judy herself had gotten quite a lot of wounds that way, so she decided Nick had had enough and walked over to detach the clingy beings from the red fox.

"Thanks." Nick mumbled, rubbing his sore thumb. "Your siblings are odd."

"Try living with them." Judy snorted.

Thankfully, it was time for dinner soon after. Judy got seated right next to Nick, much to her irritation. The fact that Nick kept brushing his tail up and down her chair, and thus also her back, didn't really help. Bonnie had seen how the kits had flocked around Nick the same way flies get drawn to light, so she seated him as far away from the kits as possible, so that they wouldn't disturb him as much. And once he had gotten used to being around so many bunnies at once, he had apparently gotten back to his usual, idiotic self.

"What is it, Carrots? You don't look happy, something annoying you?" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, actually." Judy said with a polite tone so that she wouldn't attract the attention of any adults. "You." she then half-whispered.

Nick only laughed.

A carrot and potato stew was put onto the large table. After taking a serving, she opened her phone underneath the table. She knew it was rude when they had guests, but she desperately needed to tell Fru about what had happened.

 **In deep trouble. It wasn't a handsome buck. It was freaking NICK WILDE.**

While she waited for a response, Judy took a mouthful of stew. It was really good, a clear sign that Bonnie had done the cooking. Her dad's cooking skills were okay, average at best, so usually cooking duty was left upon Bonnie. But, glancing towards Nick, she noticed everyone wasn't appreciating it as much as she was.

"Not a fan of carrots?" she asked in an amused tone. "Should have thought of that before you went to dinner with a family of rabbits."

Nick made a grimace and returned his gaze to his plate. As Judy felt the familiar buzzing from her phone, she opened it yet again.

 ** _I hope that's a joke. Please tell me that's a joke._**

Judy put away her fork and quickly typed away on the phones keyboard.

 **I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I'm not. What bothers me though is that dad's always been scared of foxes. And now he goes and befriends one? I'm not against it, I'm glad he's making progress, it's just so unlike him. He has a hard time trusting predators, and foxes in particular.**

"Judy? Are you texting?" came Bonnies voice from a few seats away. Judy quickly looked up and hid her phone in her pocket.

"No."

Bonnie looked at Judy suspiciously, but decided to drop it as she didn't want to cause a scene. Seconds later she was involved in yet another conversation. It seemed as if she had gotten more relaxed around Mary, as she looked more and more calm by the minute.

Fru's answer came a while later, and Judy, first making sure neither Bonnie nor Stu was paying attention to her, read the text.

 ** _I don't know… I agree it doesn't really sound like something your dad would do. I wonder what made him change his mind._**

 **Yeah, me too. But I can't text anymore, if mom catches me again I'll be dead!**

 ** _Okay, we'll talk tomorrow!_**

Judy put her phone back and continued eating. It didn't take long though, until she felt something soft and furry brush up and down her stool.

"Nick…" Judy said, barely suppressing her anger.

"What is it?" Nick said innocently, as if he didn't have a clue as to what on earth she was talking about.

"Could you stop doing that?" Judy said.

"Doing what?"

"That. With your tail." Judy pointed towards his tail, that had by then stopped moving. Nick commented that he didn't know what she was talking about, and shifted his focus away from her. But Judy could see the small smirk that had formed on his face.

Not long after, dessert was served. Cheesecake, her favourite. Having Nick sitting next to her kind of ruined the mood, though.

"We should probably talk." Judy said.

"Agree to disagree. I would prefer if we didn't."

Judy turned towards the fox and looked him intently in the eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Nick noticeably tensed up. He averted his gaze from her, to look at one of her younger siblings that had cheesecake all over his face. Judy had just started to think that Nick wouldn't answer at all, when he spoke in a hushed tone.

"Not _here_."

"Well we can't not talk about it, now can we? Anyway, fine, we'll wait. Meet me upstairs after dinner."

Judy's plan, that had formed in her head sometime before the stew had been served, was that if she confronted him here, in her house, there was nowhere he could run. If she instead would have chosen to do it at school, he could have easily just slipped away. And what better opportunity did she have than today?

That's why, twenty minutes later, Judy hesitantly waited at the top of the stairs for Nick to arrive. Luckily, there was only one a few of her siblings up there with her, but they were all in their own rooms and out of earshot.

She could hear distant talking from the living room, and her own breathing, but apart from that it was quiet. That was, until she heard soft steps walking towards her.

"This talk is unnecessary. You stay quiet, no one finds out, problem solved. It doesn't even have to be a problem."

"You seem to forget that you _committed a crime_ , Wilde." Judy said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, so what? I'm a fox!"

Judy looked at him disbelievingly.

"So what? Just because you're a fox, it's pointless to even try?"

Nick exasperatedly threw his hands in the air. "You just don't get it do you?"

Judy scoffed. "I don't get it? I'm a rabbit. Do you have any idea of just how much crap I've had to take when mammals found out that I want to become a cop? How many mammals that have laughed at me? Being a bunny, I do get it. Mammals underestimate us too. But just because life isn't always easy, doesn't mean you should stop trying. It means you have to try harder!"

After she was done with her little speech, Nick went silent, not knowing what to say. Eventually, though, he responded.

"So, what are you going to do? Report me to the police?"

"I'm not sure." Judy said truthfully. "But first, I want to know why you started drug dealing in the first place."

Nick let out a laugh. "What makes you so sure I want to tell you?"

Judy raised one brow. "I've got a recording in my room in which you basically saying that you've been dealing. Wonder what punishment the police would give you for that."

Nick's ears flattened. "You got a what?"

"That's right. And even if I didn't have a recording, all I would have to do is tell the police. There would be an investigation and evidence would come up. So, feel like talking now?"

Silence. For a while, that was all that was. Then Nick sighed, heavily.

"We need the money, okay? My mom's between jobs, and dad earns less than all the others despite the fact that he makes just as good a job as any, if not better."

"Oh." Judy said. She wondered why she hadn't guessed that before. It made sense though, foxes usually made significantly less than other mammals. And three mammals living on one fox's salary alone could be really tough, she had to give him that. But it still didn't justify his actions.

"Fine. Here's what we'll do. I won't report you."

To this, Nick's whole posture relaxed.

" _But_ " Judy continued "You will stop with all your criminal acts. Instead, you will get a part-time job if you need money, like normal mammals. Sure, it will be hard, but I'll help you if you need to. Also, I think you should do something for the community to pay back for your wrongdoings."

"Are you saying I should volunteer for community service?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'm not doing that.

"You have to." Judy said.

Nick just shook his head and looked away. Biting his lip, he then asked her if that was all. She said that yes, for now it was. He nodded and left. Before Judy followed, she texted Clawhauser.

 **I talked to Nick. Hopefully everything will solve itself.**

Upon sending it, she realised that he might find it odd that she was speaking with Nick at eight o' clock on a Friday evening, but decided that she would just tell her when she met him. Her phone slid back into the pocket of her dress and she walked down the stairs.

When she got down, she saw that everyone had divided into different groups. At the sofas, watching basketball, where Nick, John, Stu and a few of her siblings. At the kitchen counter, Bonnie and Mary. In a corner of the room, all the teenagers sat. The younger kits were scrambling up from their sitting positions by the bookshelf and walking to the stairs. Probably to get ready for bed.

Judy decided to sit down next to Janine, her closest sister. As they shared a room, it was only natural that they talked a lot.

The Wilde's stayed for another half an hour. Goodbyes were made, coats were put on, umbrellas retrieved, and before she knew it the three foxes were gone.

"Well" Bonnie said to Judy when the doors where closed "that was fun, right?"

"It was something." Judy said. Looking back at the evening, the only word she could describe it with was weird. Just plain weird.

 **Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys, I'm back!**

 **I do not own the Zootopia universe.**

 **Enjoy!**

"So it was Nick, huh? Tell me what happened."

Judy and Fru Fru were sitting on the couch in the living room of the latter, discussing the night before. It looked rather odd, as Judy was several times larger than Fru.

To be a family of arctic shrew's -or rather, Fru Fru and her dad, as Fru's mom had tragically died in childbirth- their living room was extremely big. That was because her father's whatever-they-were-and-whatever-they-were-doing polar bears needed to fit in every room. Thus, Judy could easily sleep on the couch. She had to admit though, she _was_ pretty certain with what they were doing. Her ethical side just didn't want to see it. Fru Fru was sitting a few feet from her, brushing her paws through her hair absentmindedly.

"Yup. It was him alright." Judy said, thinking back on the occasion. "It was even more weird because of what had happened earlier that day, so-"

Fru Fru cut her off. "What happened earlier that day?"

Judy sighed and continued on to tell her what had happened. How she had seen Nick dealing drugs in the school yard, how she had recorded it, and what she had said to Nick the evening before.

"Wait, really? You've got proof of him dealing? Turn him in!"

Judy shook her head and explained that she had decided to give him a second chance. But that if she ever caught him again, she _would_ turn him in.

"I just believe in change. And I hope he does too." Judy finished. Fru only nodded. The bunny could see that the shrew had more to say about the matter, but had decided to let it slip.

"Tell me more! Like, what happened?"

So Judy started telling her the story. How shocked both she and Nick had been when they saw each other, how Judy's siblings had attacked Nick's tail, and so on. At some parts, Fru giggled. At others, she just shook head. When Judy was finished, the conversation switched course and they started talking about the Winter Sparkle.

"Oh, I do hope Luke wants to be more than friends." Fru said with a dreamy sigh.

Judy snorted. "Of course he does, why else would he have accepted? Going as friends or not, everyone knows what an invite to the Winter Sparkle means."

"Well maybe he doesn't." Fru Fru said in a small voice.

"You wait and see, Fru. You wait and see."

Judy suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, didn't you say there was something you wished to tell me? Well, I'm here now."

Fru shifted a little in her seat.

"Well. First off, you simply cannot laugh at me, I _won't_ tolerate that. But you see, I've been thinking."

"That's a first."

As a response, Judy had a very small pillow thrown her way. She laughed.

"Just kidding." she screeched when Fru Fru made an unexpected attack to tickle Judy's left foot. "Stop it, please! I'll do anything- GAAAH!"

After what for Judy felt like an eternity, and for Fru a matter of seconds, the tickle war was over and Fru Fru continued.

"I've been unsure of what I wanted to be once I finished highschool. But then I saw this photo in TeenMogue. And it just made me think 'Heck, maybe I should become a stylist?' and the more I think about it the more I like it. I found this really nice university in Little Rodentia too, I think I'll apply to it."

Judy looked at Fru, smiling. Her whole senior year thus far had been full of worrying of what would become of her after she had finished her education at Zootopia High School. It had been especially stressful the closer she got to the due date of the university applications.

"That's great, Fru Fru. I can totally see you becoming a stylist. You've got great taste in fashion, I can't even begin to count the times you've saved me from embarrassing fashion mistakes."

Fru giggled and told her about the time Judy had almost worn a most horrid tweed maxi skirt to school. They'd had to do an emergency makeover in the girls' bathroom. Judy, embarrassed, burrowed her face in a pillow.

"Please don't remind me." she begged.

The night went on in usual sleep-over-style. Watching a soppy movie, eating lots of popcorn, giving each other manicures –for Judy this was an especially hard, but with a great deal of concentration she managed-, and of course, staying up to the early hours. The clock had reached three before Judy had finally drawn the covers over herself, and exhausted as she was, fallen asleep.

The next day, Fru was to meet a few friends in Little Rodentia, and had to leave around midday. Judy thought it best that she left then too, and began the walk towards the bus stop. Looking up into the sky, she saw small snowflakes, drifting down towards the ground. Judy smiled. Winter was a lovely season; with all the snow, peppermint lattes and glittering lights. It was by far her favourite. Sure, it was cold, but it was so… peaceful, and beautiful, too.

The bus, arriving to the bus stop, pulled her out of her thoughts. She went in, used her bus card, and took a seat in the middle of the bus. It whined a little before pulling to a start.

The tune of Gazelle's latest hit song, Try Everything, started playing from her phone. She pulled it up from her jacket pocket and answered the phone call.

"Judy! The date starts in an hour, and I have _nothing_ to wear."

She could hear Ben beginning to hyperventilate on the other line.

"Calm down, Ben. You have plenty of nice things you can put on."

"My purple shirt's in the washer, I can't wear it! Oh no, this is so going to be a disaster. He'll never go out with me again."

"Clawhauser, _calm down_. It's not going to be a disaster. Just pick another shirt and you'll be fine. Ok?"

Judy looked out the window of the moving vehicle.

"This is my stop, I've got to go. Tell me how it went!"

"But Ju-"

The call ended and Judy hopped out of the bus. As she stood there by the road, she furrowed her brows and looked down at her feet. Knowing that what she did was very rude, she immediately called up again. After ten minutes, she had managed to calm Clawhauser down enough for him to be able to think clearly.

The next week went by without any fuzz. Judy and Clawhauser finished their project, and practised rehearsing it until they could both recite it in their sleep. Nick was pestering her with his witty comments as usual. Clawhauser just couldn't stop talking about his date with Matt, how it had gone so good and been just like in the movies, and how they had planned a new one for the next Sunday.

Friday came, bringing the presentation about the Zootopian Revolution with it.

Judy cleared her throat and looked out at her classmates. Nick sat there, winking at her –which caused a great deal of annoyance from Judy-, but most other students were either on the verge of sleeping or simply playing with their phones. She glanced towards Clawhauser. Despite looking nervous, he gave her a small smile, and after the teacher nodded at them, they started their presentation.

"Over a hundred years ago, Zootopian citizens got tired of how the democracy was turned against them. No matter how they voted, the winning party was always the same." Judy began.

Looking around, she saw that the teacher really seemed to be the only one listening to the speech. She decided that she didn't care.

"A few mammals started a group, with the focus to ensure that the voting's were done correctly. What they then realised, was that the government itself was messing with the election, adding extra votes to their party."

"And so, um." Clawhauser continued, fidgeting with his hands. "So the group grew and started making plans to overthrow the, um, the winning party."

As the presentation drew on, Judy watched Clawhauser growing more and more nervous.

"Hey." she whispered to him. "It's going to be ok."

Clawhauser shook his head.

"I can't do it."

"Yes you can. Deep breaths."

After taking a few deep breaths. Clawhauser looked out at the students, and then at Judy for support. The rabbit in question nodded encouragingly. "On the cold night of, um 1913, they set their plans to work." Clawhauser then said.

"But they didn't get very far until they reached their first obstacle." Judy said. "Reaching the Parliament, they realised that they had been misinformed. An ally on the inside, Harry Wolfington, had told them that the building would be empty, but a short-notice meeting had started a mere hour before."

As Judy's eyes quickly swept across the classroom, she marvelled at how a class could be so very unenthusiastic. The teacher, of course, did not notice.

Shaking her head, Judy took a breath before continuing. Although the bunny didn't get very far, for just as she was to continue, the door opened. To her surprise, it was the principal, a bear with a very serious and stern look on her face.

"I'm so sorry for disturbing your class, Mrs. Jumbeaux," She didn't sound very sorry to Judy. Stressed, was more like it. "but I need to speak to Mr. Nick Wilde. Can you come outside please?"

A very confused Nick rose out of his chair. He then glanced over to Judy, as if to say ' _You didn't tell anyone did you?'_. Judy made the slightest shake of her head and Nick nodded gratefully. Then, he continued to ask the principal if he had done anything wrong.

"Just follow me outside, Wilde." she said as an answer.

For just a fraction of a second, Judy could glimpse an alarmed and befuddled look on Nick's face. But then he wore his signature smirk again, as usual.

 _Like a mask,_ Judy absentmindedly thought.

"Anything for you, principal Grizzly. By the way, do you still have those sweets in your office? They are indeed _delicious_."

Judy rolled her eyes, watching as he walked out of the classroom. Her teacher then urged her to continue, so she did. The elephant was used to Nick having to go to the principal's office.

After class, Judy saw Nick standing by his locker, shoulders slouching and ears flat against his head.

Unsure of what to do, she just kind of stood there in the corridor for a while. She had never seen him looking sad or hopeless before. A deep breath, and she continued on.

"Hey," she said softly as she walked up to him. "You okay?"

Nick twitched as he stood, surprised to hear her addressing him. Immediately, he straightened up his position and smirked.

"Hey, Carrots! Never been better. By the way, marvellous presentation you did back there. What could it have been? B plus? A minus?"

Judy's eyes narrowed.

"Why A _minus_?"

Nick snorted.

"What? That bad for you?"

Judy shook her head and was just about to reply that, well, while it wasn't bad it wasn't the _best_ , she remembered what the conversation had started with.

"Seriously though. What was it the principal wanted to speak to you about? Was it bad?"

"Fluff." Nick said, suddenly serious. "She took me _out of class_. It wasn't exactly to tell me what a great student I am." He rolled his eyes at the mere thought that he, Nick Wilde, would ever be a great student.

"Do you want to…" Judy began, not knowing what she should say to the fox. "I dunno, talk about it?"

Nick snorted.

"With a naïve little bunny like you? Wouldn't want to trouble your innocent little mind."

"Hey!" Judy said defensively. "I am _not_ naïve."

"Hate to break it to you then, Fluff. But you are."

Judy gaped at him as he walked away from her and thereby, ending the conversation.

At lunch, Judy couldn't stop thinking about Nick. She knew his reaction to getting lectures by the principal. A shrug, a smirk, and that was that. It was as if he always hid his feelings from the public with a thick wall. No, this had to be something else. Something must have happened, something very serious. And Judy had to know what it was. She just had this feeling in her gut that said that something was very, very wrong. And her gut was always right.

"Are you even listening to me?" a slightly irritated arctic shrew asked her.

"What?" Judy said, pulled out of her thoughts. "Yeah, buy that dress." Looking towards Judy, she added "Sorry, I've got to go."

Fru said something along the lines of 'that wasn't even close to what we were talking about', but Judy wasn't listening.

Not really knowing how she would gather up the necessary information –Nick wouldn't really say anything, that was for certain- Judy went to the first place that came to mind. The principal's office.

That was why, five minutes later, Judy was right outside the door to said office, ear pressed to the keyhole. Thanks to her superb bunny hearing, she had no trouble hearing what the voices inside of the room said.

"But I highly doubt that he-" said the principal.

"Mrs. Grizzly. I don't know what else to think. All the evidence so far point towards him." A voice said, one Judy didn't recognise.

A sigh was heard.

"He might not be the most obedient of students, but I highly doubt he would go around _killing_ someone!"

Judy gasped. Where they talking about Nick? They had to be, who else could it be about?

"We do not have enough evidence to prove that he did it at the moment, so he walks freely. It is against the law to falsely imprison anyone, after all. But I believe it to be only a matter of time before Nick Wilde will be proven guilty of murder." another, to Judy, unknown voice stated.

Judy stood completely still. Nick was accused of _murder_? Even though he was the most irritating mammal Judy knew, and despite the fact that he was also a hustling drug dealer, she didn't think he had the mind-set to be a killer.

He couldn't have done it. Or could he?

 **And that was chapter 4! Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **I realize that I have forgotten to answer to Guests reviews. So here they come!**

Love it. Keep up the great work. **Thanks! I'll try my best :p**

I loved it I kind of wish that you had parted Nick and just for the assignment but that's okay can you do a chapter about when clawhawser calls Judy's siblings cute please! **I know, pairing them up for the assignment would probably have been super cute, but also a very predictable move. I'll take your request into consideration!**

Really good can't wait for more chapters **Awww thanks!**

I am on the edge of my seat. Please update soon! The suspense is maddening! **I'm glad you like it :-)**

Love it. Great Job. Keep it up. **Thanks!**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello dear readers!**

 **So much positive feedback, thank you so so** **much! Your kind reviews always makes my day.**

 **Also, there's something I've been thinking about and meaning to say. I've got a lot on my plate this December (a short story that needs to be finished before Christmas, for example) and I, who had been planning to do a Christmas special, has now realized that I probably won't be able to do that. I'll do my best to get as far as to the Winter Sparkle before Christmas is actually over, though.**

 **But as I suspect you're here to read the story and not my a/n, without further ado, here is chapter 5.**

 **Enjoy!**

Immediately after the shocking revelation she had heard outside of the principal's door, Judy retreated back into the safety of the school corridors. If anyone had caught her, she would be as dead as that mammal Nick apparently was accused of killing.

Shaking her head, she quickly got to her locker. The bunny took out her things and got to her remaining lessons. What was she supposed to do?

 _Well, for starters,_ Judy thought to herself as she scribbled notes into her notebook, _I should find out the truth. But then what?_

Judy had absolutely no idea, and it didn't help that she seemed to encounter Nick wherever she went. But she didn't even give him the chance to say hi to her. A part of her, she realised, was scared. Scared that he was a murderer and that he would kill her too. The other part was just plain nervous.

 _Time for another one of our talks,_ she thought, thinking back to their conversation back at her house the week before.

School ended for the week. Judy stood at the bus stop, nervous. When should she talk to him? At school? No, someone might overhear. Should she tell Fru Fru and Clawhauser? The feeling of venting to them felt like a great idea, but Judy knew that Ben wasn't the best at keeping secrets, try as he may. Fru Fru was better at it, but even the best could let something like that slip.

It wasn't her secret to tell. If she wanted to tell Fru and Ben she would first have to ask Nick for permission. For if something like this came out, even if he was innocent, it would ruin him. Rumours travelled fast in big cities like Zootopia. The rumour would have a hard time to disappear, and he could say goodbye to that part time job she had advised him to get, and probably to most universities as well. No one wanted a mammal accused of murder as their student, after all.

An idea formed in her head. As her bus arrived, she told Clawhauser to enter without her. When he wondered what she was up to, Judy just shrugged. What could she say?

Then, she texted her mom.

 **Mom, hi! Just finished school, went great. By the way, you don't happen to know where the Wilde's live?**

 _Smooth, Judy, smooth. Not at all weird in any way._ She rolled her eyes at herself.

Bonnie's answer came a few minutes later. By that time, Judy's hands were frozen and she was stomping where she stood to try and keep warm. Why did she have to forget gloves _that_ very day, of all days?

 ** _Great sweetie! Got any homework?_**

Her phone buzzed again.

 ** _I'll have to ask your dad about that. I didn't know you had started to spend time with their son! How nice. Maybe we can all have dinners more often._**

Judy blushed. Of course that was what her mom would assume. She was just about to type out that they were _not_ hanging out, when she realised that that might be the perfect cover-up for her real intentions.

 **Umm yeah. Call me when you know.**

Thinking it might take a while, Judy walked around mindlessly. Suddenly, she found herself standing outside of the ZPD. They had different buildings all over town, and the one she stood in front of was the downtown one.

A small smile formed on her lips. If all went according to plan, she would be working there one day. It would be hard, Judy knew that. Nobody really thought that she could make it, not even her parents. They had gently tried to inform her that becoming a bunny cop was very hard and that the chance of her making it into the force was very small. After all, she _was_ a bunny. But, as a bully from her childhood had said, she didn't know when to stop. And that was true. She would try, and if she failed, she would try again, and again, and again.

Judy rang the doorbell. When Bonnie had gotten back to her, Judy had gotten the directions to the Wilde house (and a nervous "Be careful!" that was probably less because the Wilde's were foxes and more because Judy was going to a _boy_ to hang out). Surprisingly, they lived only a twenty-minute bus ride from each other.

The door was opened by Mary, Nick's mother.

"Oh, hello, Judy! So very nice to see you again." she had a warm smile on her face. However, if you looked close enough, you could notice a look of exhaustion in her eyes.

"Hello, Mrs. Wilde." Judy said, suddenly shy.

"Oh, please, call me Mary." Mary said, smile not leaving her face for even a second. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Judy started fidgeting with her paws.

"I, uhm, wondered if Nick was home? We're working on a school project together and we really need to do some research."

"On a Friday afternoon?" Mary asked, an eyebrow raised.

Again, Judy blushed. She didn't want Mary think it was something like _that_.

"Yeah… It's a really important project." Judy said, but looking at the vixen she had a feeling it didn't really help.

Smiling again, Mary continued. "Well, Nick isn't home yet, but you're welcome to stay and wait for him."

"Oh." Judy said. "No, it's quite alright. I can come back… Some other time."

"No, no." Mary insisted. "You are very welcome to stay if you please. I've got cookies and hot chocolate in the kitchen, and Nick should be home any minute."

Judy hesitated. "Well, if you insist…"

Any minute turned out to be half an hour. Judy and Mary sat in the kitchen, munching on cookies and chatting away.

Judy took a sip out of her cup of hot chocolate.

"-but it really didn't matter because Mr. Collas didn't think it was a good idea in the first place."

The small bunny nodded. She usually wasn't one for gossip, but Mary somehow made it more interesting. It was obvious that she was a mammals-person, as outgoing and kind as she was.

Judy was just about to respond when she heard the front door open and close. Into the kitchen came Nick.

"Hi mom" he began, but then his gaze wondered over to the little grey bunny with a cup of hot cocoa in her paws. "and… Carrots?"

"Hi Nick." Judy tried her best at sounding casual. "I came over so that we could get started on our school project."

She gave him an intense look, like she was urging him to play along. Nick had no clue what a little _bunny_ could possibly want from him on a Friday afternoon -because she didn't want to talk about the drugs again, did she?- and decided that it was best to just play along as she wanted.

"Oh, uh, yes." Nick said, adapting to the situation. "The project! Jeez, I can't believe I forgot. You'll have to forgive me, Fluff."

Judy nodded. "Of course I do. Now, we better get started right away."

Nick nodded, trying to decipher the look in Judy's eyes. It was one of great determination.

After a few seconds Nick spoke again.

"You're right. Just follow me."

He then exited the room. Judy set down her cup on the table and told Mrs. Wilde that it had been a pleasure meeting her, and that she would love to hear more about what Mr. Collas had done another time. She then scurried after the red fox.

When they had stepped into Nick's room, he carefully closed the door and turned towards her. Judy gulped as she realised she was alone in a closed room with him, so she decided to distract herself by looking around.

So this was Nick Wilde's room. It wasn't as big as hers, but she had to admit she didn't have that room all to herself. He had a small –or to her, rather big- bed in one corner, a desk in another, a small bookshelf and a sacco bag. To Judy, it felt oddly intimate, as a room always reveals something about the person's personality.

"Well?" Nicks impatient voice reminded her that she was not alone. "What do you want?"

Sighing, she turned towards him. "I know."

He furrowed his brows. "You know what exactly?"

"I know you're accused of murder."

Nick's ears flattened against his side and his eyes stared into hers. He stood like that for what felt like an eternity.

"…Nick?"

Finally, Nick regained his posture. But he didn't add his signature smirk, he just looked at her seriously.

"Where did you hear that?"

Deciding it was best just to tell the truth, she told him about how she had sneaked to the principal's office and listened in to the conversation inside.

Nick just looked at her.

"And now" he said. "you want to know if I did it or not, eh? Now you're thinking Nick might be a cold blooded murderer?"

"I…" Judy said. When she came to think about it, she was rather unsure of what she would do once she had actually told him that she knew about the murder case. "Well, I don't think you did it."

"But you believe I could have done it?" Nick's expression was offended. And not that fake-offended look he had in school sometimes, but the real deal.

Judy became quiet at that. She didn't think he had the right personality for it, but sometimes the guilty person was the one you least expected. And while yes, he was irritating at times, and just had that certain way of being that to the bunny was extraordinarily annoying, Judy had never once seen any sign of aggressive behaviour from him.

"No." she said quietly, looking down at her feet. Raising her gaze, she noticed that the fox was still looking at her.

"Good. Because I'm innocent."

Judy could hear the truth in his words. Some may call her naïve, but from that moment on, she was absolutely certain. Nick Wilde was as innocent as a butterfly. Okay, he wasn't, he had done a great deal of illegal things in his time, but at least he hadn't murdered anyone.

After that, neither Judy nor Nick knew what to say. They stood there in silence for a few minutes, until Nick decided to speak up again.

"Have you told anyone?"

She shook her head and answered that she had no right to, and Nick let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, with that said, I guess we're… done?" Nick asked Judy.

Where they really? The voice inside of the principal's office, most certainly a cop, had said that all evidence so far led to Nick Wilde. And by the sound of that, they already had a lot. Not enough to put Nick under arrest, but enough for him become the main suspect. Judy couldn't just sit around and watch an innocent mammal getting arrested, and having his whole life ruined because of something he didn't do.

"No." Judy then told the fox that the evidence found so far lead to him and that it was only a matter of time before they would be able to arrest him.

"Well, thanks for that pep speech, Carrots. I feel the positivity flowing through me." Nick commented, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm not saying you're doomed." Judy said, trying to cheer him up again. She miserably failed. "I'm just saying you need help."

"Help?" Nick questioned. "From whom? The police won't help me, and there really isn't that much that my parents can do other than to try and convince the police that I'm not guilty."

"From me." Judy said quietly, looking down. The thought had dawned upon her as they had spoken. The thought had probably been in the back of her head all day, it just hadn't been brought to the surface. She couldn't let an innocent mammal get accused of murder. She needed to help.

"You? No offence, but I don't think there is much you can do either. I have no alibi, apparently I have a motive, and the murder was apparently done by someone my size."

Judy bit her lip. Not having an alibi made things a little harder. But the second thing he said caught her attention.

"Motive? Was it someone you knew, then?"

Nick gulped and looked her in the eyes. Then, suddenly, he smirked, catching Judy off guard. Why was he _smirking_?

"Let's just say we weren't really friendly."

 **And that's chapter five! Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **Answers to guest reviews:**

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 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Holy moly ravioli. 80 reviews! How on earth did that happen? I distinctly remember having about 30 just before posting chapter 5... But thank you. Thank you for your support and kind words, it means the world to me!**

 **Wham! Right before New Year too ;)**

 **I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, but Christmas, and especially the days before, was rather hectic. Anyway, here it is!**

 **I do not own the Zootopia universe, only the plot.**

 **Enjoy!**

"What do you mean, not very friendly?" Judy squinted at Nick, as if trying to find out what he meant just by looking at him.

"Exactly what I said." Nick stated. "His name is" the fox furrowed his brows before he continued " _was_ , Duke Weaselton."

With a sigh, Nick continued on to tell her more about the now dead mammal.

"He was a weasel, obviously. Didn't think about anything but money. Being the con-mammal he was, we hung out in the same circles."

Judy found out that the two had never been able to get along, and that they had even gotten arrested because of an intense fight. Nick had a black eye for days afterwards, and his parents had been very displeased.

"I take it you don't know what the evidence against you is?" Judy asked.

Nick shook his head.

"They don't let me know anything."

Judy put her paw to her head in a thinking position. Why didn't they let him know?

"Well, first of all, we should probably find out what evidence the ZPD has against you. Then we simply prove them wrong."

A laugh escaped Nick. Judy tilted her head to the side, not understanding why Nick suddenly started laughing.

"What?"

"As if it was that easy." Nick snorted and shook his head.

A knock to the door made both the fox and the rabbit jump. Said fox's mom opened the door, and her head poked in through the gap.

"Just checking in to see if you two needed anything."

The teenagers both shook their heads simultaneously. Nick added to it by saying that no, they didn't need anything, and that Judy was leaving now anyway, wasn't she?

Sighing, Judy nodded.

"Yeah. I was just leaving. We will be down in a minute."

Mary nodded and left them alone. The second the door had closed again, Judy held out an expecting paw.

"Your phone." she said.

"What would you need my phone for?" asked Nick.

"We need to exchange numbers." Judy answered back simply.

"Okay, just because you're going to 'help' me, doesn't mean tha-"

"Goddamnit Nick, just give me your phone!"

Scared of what would happen if he refused, he quietly handed it over to her.

"Unlock it."

And so he did. Judy then started to tap away on the device. When she was done, she gave it back to him.

"There. Now you have my number. It's important, we need to be able to communicate in some way. Also, I don't take this as a joke. And neither should you."

"I'll have you know," Nick said, taking a step closer. "that I'm not taking this as a joke. My whole life is on the line here. I know the consequences, but I don't know how to stop them from happening. And I doubt that you, however good your intentions are, could change anything."

"Nick…" Judy said, softly. "You can't give up."

He just shrugged and nodded towards the exit.

"So…" Bonnie, Judy's mother, started. "Since when do you hang out with Nick Wilde?"

Judy was laying out the cutlery for all 30 bunnies in the Hopps household. Bonnie was at the stove, preparing their meal.

"Since today, actually." Judy said absentmindedly. Then her mind tuned in to the conversation and she continued. "We've been talking a bit at school, that's all. But we've got a, um, project, that we're working on." It wasn't that much of a lie really. They did have a project, although it might not be exactly what Bonnie thought.

"Oh, how nice!" Judy's bad lying abilities slipped right past Bonnie. Perhaps she was more focused on the potatoes.

Bonnie told her that they had been invited to dinner at the Wilde's next week, and then giddily –but with a stressed undertone- confessed that she had gotten an order of seven hand knitted sweaters for the next Wednesday.

"This is the big chance I've been waiting for! And they even said that if they are especially happy with the results they'd give me a bonus."

Judy smiled at her mom and congratulated her. Sure, she wouldn't call an order of seven sweaters Bonnie's big break, but it would certainly do good for the company.

"But, it will take a lot of time, though. I just hope I can find the time…"

After dinner, the grey bunny decided to call Clawhauser. It only took two beeps until he answered.

"Hi, Ben!" she said.

He greeted her back, and they proceeded to chat for a while. But it didn't take long until they got to a subject that made Judy more than a little uncomfortable. She didn't want to accidentally spill anything.

"What happened to you today? You seemed way out of it at lunch."

"Oh." Judy said. Her head was blank, without a clue as to what she should say to him.

"I… I don't know, to be honest. Strange day, that's all." She gulped, hoping she would get away with the lie.

"Judy, if _anything_ is wrong, you can tell me, okay? You can tell me."

Taking a deep breath, she mulled it over. She had already decided not to, but she really wanted to vent.

 _No,_ she decided. _I can't risk it._

Yet, she didn't want to lie. So she chose an alternate path instead.

"It's just… It's something I can't talk with you about. Promise me. I really want to, and I trust you, I do, but this secret isn't mine to share."

For a while, there was no answer on the other line. Then, after what felt like ages, Clawhauser's voice.

"Oh… Well, I trust your decisions. But if it has anything to do with what happened at the school yard, I want you to tell me, ok?"

"Sure." Judy said flatly.

The call ended with a promise that Ben would come and visit the very next day.

"Had any fun today?" Judy asked her sister Janine as she brushed her fur in front of the mirror.

"It was ok, I guess. Wilma got a new boyfriend. Fred, I think he's called. Gosh, he has no idea what he's getting himself into."

The sisters laughed. Wilma was Janine's closest friend, and she switched boyfriends as often as the winded changed direction.

"Poor Fred." Judy said, amused. "To be fair though, maybe Fred will be the one who finally lasts longer than three weeks."

"I don't think so. He's the stereotypical jock. Not an interesting thought in his head." Janine said as she switched into her pyjamas.

Janine then begun a detailed description of a buck in her class. As she and Judy where from the same litter, and thus the same age, Judy quickly recognised him.

"Do you mean Luca? We have P.E. together, you want me to put in a good word for you?"

"Would you do that?" Janine said, grateful. "Thanks!"

Judy smiled and gave her sister a quick hug

Another ten minutes passed before the lights had been turned off, and another twenty until she heard her sister's snores. Judy herself was at the edges of consciousness, when a sharp –to her bunny ears, at least- pling made her eyes burst open. Janine shifted in her sleep, but did not wake up.

She didn't recognise the number, and there was no name included in the message, but Judy immediately knew who it was anyway.

 ** _If you really are going to help me, you're going to have to find a more subtle way to come over. My mom has been questioning me about you constantly since you left._**

Judy groaned. He had to text her just as she had started to fall asleep?

 **Newsflash, Nick, some of us are trying to sleep here.**

 ** _It's 11:30. You can't possibly have been asleep this early._**

 **I was. You can at least say that you're sorry.**

 ** _No can do, Carrots. But seriously though, aim for subtle._**

 **Sure. Goodnight Nick.**

She received no answer, and presumed that that was that. But, just as she had closed her eyes and relaxed, her phone burred yet again.

 ** _Goodnight Fluff._**

 **You did that on purpose didn't you?**

 ** _What, me? I would never._**

Sighing, she put her phone in airplane mode, just for safety, and went to sleep.

A big, furry creature. That was all she saw as she woke up. In her groggy, newly-woken-up state, she didn't know what it was, and screamed.

"Holy s-" she gasped. Blinking, she then noticed a rabbit sitting on her bed. "Joshua! It's not funny. Leave _now_."

Judy's raised voice made Janine's form move from under the duvet, and a few seconds later a sleepy 'what's going on?' could be heard from across the room.

"I'll tell you what's going on." Judy said, heat rising in her face. "He scared me on purpose!"

"No way. You just looked kind of, well, dead. I saw it as my brotherly duty to make sure that you're not." Joshua said, proudly looking away in the distance with a paw over his heart.

He got a pillow thrown his way. Realising he had just awoken the mighty wrath of Judy Hopps, he quickly slipped out of the room and disappeared.

 _I'm going to get revenge for that,_ Judy thought, irritated.

Two hours later, Clawhauser showed up at their doorstep. He had brought flowers for Bonnie -they we're $1 flowers from the shop around the corner, but all the same greatly appreciated- and a box of doughnuts. They sat on the couch, doughnut box in-between them, as they watched 'Judge Trudy'.

"Seriously." Judy said as she swallowed a bite of the fried dough. "These cases are ridiculous. I can't believe that they're actually real. I mean, who sues their daughter for that?" the bunny said, pointed an accusing finger at the screen.

Clawhauser just shrugged, mouth full.

The show ended, and Judy decided to text Fru Fru, asking her if she wanted to come over. Maybe the trio could visit a museum later in the day. As she scrolled down the list of contacts, she saw Nick's number flash before her eyes. She quickly changed it to 'Nick' so she wouldn't be confused about who it was.

 _I completely forgot,_ she thought. _I don't know how much time we have before the police takes him in._

Clearing her throat, she glanced over to the big cheetah.

"Um, Ben? I, um, kind of need to go… But you're happy to stay if you want to!"

Clawhauser looked at her intently.

"It's got something to do with that secret that you won't tell me, doesn't it?" he questioned her.

"Maybe." Judy said, looking down at her feet. "I don't want to be rude, honestly. But I completely forgot, and I really, really need to go."

Before she left, Clawhauser wondered if she could come by his place later that day to choose an outfit for his next date with Matt. Fru would be there, too.

"I'll try." Judy said with a small smile.

After leaving a note to her parents that she was going out, and putting on their respective coats, both she and Clawhauser left the building.

Taking a seat on the bus, Judy texted Nick.

 **I'm coming over.**

Five minutes later, her answer came.

 ** _No, you're not. Definitely not._**

Sighing, she texted back.

 **Why? Nick, if you want my help then you need to _let me_ help you.**

 ** _Fine. But you're not coming over. My mom will be seriously suspicious. Also, this whole ordeal doesn't mean that we're 'friends' capiche?_**

 **Good. It's irritating just sharing classes with you, I can't even begin to imagine how irritating it would be to actually be friends with you.**

 ** _Funny. Meet me at Snarlbucks. It's fairly close to my home. You can't miss it._**

By the time Judy had exited the vehicle, it was snowing. Snarlbucks was, as Nick had said, hard to miss. She had seen it on her way there, and it only took a minute of walking.

It was very cold, and thus she felt like her face had become a huge ice block. In an attempt to warm up her frozen features, she blew warm air on her snout.

A bell sounded as she entered the not-so-crowded café. Nick wasn't there yet, so she ordered a cup of hot cocoa and sat down at a table. The chair was slightly too big for her, so her feet didn't touch the ground. They were barely halfway there.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice him until he sat on the chair across from her, cup in hand. He wore a knitted, grey hat and a slightly darker coat. No gloves.

"Isn't it cold without gloves?" was all she said.

Nick chuckled and shrugged.

"Not so much, Fluff."

"Well… I think it is! But that cup of yours must be warm so that's good. Phew, winter came really fast. I mean, one day it was autumn and then… I guess that's just how it is really, I mean winter usually comes pretty quickly, and that's just how it is."

Nick watched her with an amused look on his face. When she was finished, and realised that she had started rambling, a blush crept up on her face and ears.

"Aw, rambling because of me? How sweet." Nick said with a smirk, paws on his heart.

"What? No. Absolutely not. You're absurd." was Judy's answer. She didn't know why she was rambling, but this whole situation clearly made her nervous. Because, well, if she failed, an innocent mammal would be behind bars.

"Whatever you say, Fluff." Nick said with a chuckle as he took a sip from his cup.

"Anyway, let's get straight to the point. We need to find out the details about the case, and _especially_ the evidence against you."

"And how do you think we'll do that?" Nick said, eyebrows raised, as he leaned against the back of the chair. "Just going to the ZPD and straight out asking them?"

"Well, yeah. That's exactly how we're going to do it."

 **And that's chapter 6! Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **I know, I know, I usually write out the guest reviews, but now there's almost 50 new ones! (Thanks so much you guys!) So that would be super-duper-mega long.**

 **But I'm once again thanking you all for your amazing support! Your reviews makes my day, and hearing that you like my story makes me really happy. So thanks for your wonderful reviews.**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys!**

 **I am SO SO sorry for not updating in so long. Yesterday I thought "Hmm, when was the last time I updated? January?" and so i checked and realized that i haven't updated at all this year! But hey, now I'm back, and I'll try to update as often as possible!**

 **Also did anyone here see the Oscars? Zootopia won best animated feature! Yay! (Best picture lmao)**

 **Why, just why, does it have to be so hard to upload this** **document? Jeez... *triggered***

 **After such a long wait I think you want to get right to the story so, without further ado,**

 **Enjoy!**

"You can't be serious." Nick sighed, an incredulous look on his face.

"I am." Judy said. "I mean, why not? You have every right to know. The law's on your side. I think."

The red fox shook his head and sighed once again.

"They're not going to tell me anything." Nick said matter-of-factly. "I'm a fox."

Judy stilled. She knew that there was prejudice against some species, something she had gotten painfully aware of herself, and that foxes had it much harder, but withholding him information from a case like that? The bunny had a hard time believing that the ZPD, of all mammals, were speciesist.

"Just because you're a fox? They can't be serious!"

"Oh well they are." Nick stated with a sigh.

Looking around, Judy noticed that her outburst had caused quite a few mammals to glance their way. In a quieter tone, she answered Nick.

"Then we have to go there and change their minds."

Half an hour later, Judy and Nick stood outside of the ZPD. It was the same building that she had stood before just the other day. She looked at the crimson fox, and he looked at her. They nodded, and then entered the building.

It was amazing. Judy couldn't help but gasp. Everywhere she looked, police officers walked past. They were chatting, working, and one even held a criminal in a tight grip. The building itself was magnificent; the marble floor was smooth and shiny, and on it was a big grey star. In the middle of the star was a reception area, where a grey timber wolf sat. Looking up, Judy could see the second floor.

"Do you have a plan, Carrots?" Nick asked her as he himself looked around. His expression was wary and on guard. Judy figured that he might have been there before, for questioning and such.

"Well, I was just going to go up there and ask that wolf at the reception."

Nick snorted and said that he probably didn't even know anything about the case in question.

"Well, we'll just ask him to take us to whoever is in charge." Judy debated.

Commenting that, well, they could at least try, Nick followed Judy to the reception area, where the wolf greeted them politely. Craning his neck, he looked down at the fox and rabbit in front of him.

"Hello and welcome to the ZPD. What can I do to help you?" he asked in a pleasant voice.

"Hello!" Judy exclaimed, making a small wave. "I'm Judy Hopps and this is my" she glanced at Nick " _friend,_ Nick Wilde."

Nick raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. As Judy turned her gaze to the wolf, she continued.

"He is accused of a crime that he did not commit. To be able to prove his innocence, we would like to be informed about the details of the case, the evidence in particular."

The wolf nodded and glanced towards Nick. After a second or so, he looked back at Judy.

"Say, what crime is he accused of?" the timber wolf inquired.

Judy hesitated. Saying he was accused of murder would draw them a lot of attention, more so than they needed. But before she had the chance to say anything, Nick answered for her.

"Look up Duke Weaselton, sir."

The wolf looked down at his computer, typing something on the keyboard. Then, eyebrows rising, he answered them.

"I see… I'll call up to Chief Earsley's office and see if he's available. Please take a seat over there." he gesticulated towards a few benches placed along the walls of the building.

"I thought I told you, we're not friends." Nick remarked as they took their seats.

"Well what was I supposed to say?" Judy demanded. "That we may or may not dislike each other yet are working together to prove that you aren't the murderous fox the police think you are?"

"Well," Nick thought. "that certainly would have been an icebreaker."

He smirked as he relaxed into his seat. Judy sighed and shook her head, although the corners of her lips hinted at a smile.

Turns out, Nick was right. Judy and Nick, after having to wait an annoyingly long thirty-seven minutes and twenty-three seconds –yes, Judy counted-, got the directions to the right office. Chief Earsley was an older elephant, probably near retirement. He had a grumpy look across his features as he saw the predator and the prey walk into his office together.

The chief didn't even bother with introductions.

"Nick Wilde." he had said, completely ignoring Judy. "What do you want now?"

"I want to know what the evidence against me is." Nick answered back in a stern tone.

"Oh? Well, unfortunately I am very busy at the moment and can't provide you with any case details. But, seeing as you're not an officer, you have no authority to know this anyway."

"Excuse me, Chief." Judy took a step forward. "Actually he has every right to know. He is accused of _murder_. A crime of which he is innocent, by the way. We want to know what the evidence is so we can prove that he has, in fact, committed no crime. So if you could just take a moment of your ti-"

The elephant laughed.

"A fox and a bunny working _together_? Now that's not a sight you see every day."

Judy started to thump her foot to the ground. Crossing her arms, she squinted at the chief.

" _Sir_. What is the evidence?"

Earsley's patience was running thin. He eyed the teenagers and then answered her.

"You are two teenagers. One, a fox. The other, a bunny. And I won't let you run around endangering an investigation. Now get out before I call security on you!"

Judy stared at him. This wasn't how the police was supposed to act. And a _Chief_ no less! Was he really so small minded that he couldn't see past one's species?

Suddenly at a loss for words, Judy glanced up at Nick. He swiftly shook his head, as if saying that the fight was lost. The bunny's chest rose and fell several times before she looked back at the Chief.

"Fine. We'll go. But mark my words. You will regret this."

Without another word, Judy swept out of the office, Nick following suit.

"I'm assuming that this is all part of the plan?" Nick said jokingly once they were out.

"Unfortunately not." Judy admitted. "Shit, I really thought that that would work! We need to find another way."

"Maybe we could figure that out over lunch?" Nick proposed. "I'm starving."

After walking around, looking for a place to eat, they chose Bugga Burger. It hadn't taken long for the burgers to arrive –one prey meal for Judy and a predator one for Nick- and they had taken their seats. But a certain grey bunny couldn't focus on the food. She was fuming. That had not gone as planned at all.

"If you got any redder, Carrots, you really would look like a carrot." Nick said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The joke didn't have any effect on Judy. Instead, she put down her food and looked at Nick with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I really thought it would work…"

"It's okay Fluff. To be honest, I didn't expect you to succeed in the first place." Nick admitted.

"Hey!" Nick got a piece of salad thrown his way.

"Okay, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. No, seriously! Don't throw another piece of salad. _Please._ " Nick had noticed that Judy's hand had slowly moved back to her burger. "You'll have nothing left to eat."

Stopping mid-action, Judy decided to instead take a bite of her vegetarian hamburger.

"But, well, I think it's good that we both knew when to quit." Nick went on as he ate, gesticulating with his right paw absentmindedly. "I mean, god knows what would have happened if we had caused a fight."

 _Judy Hopps doesn't know when to quit._

"I don't know when to quit!" Judy almost sang, as if she had come up with the invention of a century. "Nick. We can't give up yet! When we've eaten we _must_ go back. I think I've got a plan."

"That's a first."

Judy glared at Nick, another piece of salad shooting through the air and hitting his muzzle. As he slowly removed it, he tiredly pointed out that she was the most immature bunny he knew. The bunny in question ignored the comment, and after asking if he was done, and him saying that indeed, he was, jumped down from her seat.

"Come on." she almost sang to him.

"I thought we were going back?" Nick questioned her as she led him to a bus stop.

"We are," Judy insisted. "Just not now. I may have the outlines of a plan, but this whole 'mission' of ours needs to be carefully thought out."

Nick didn't reply but merely nodded. In the distance, he saw a bus approaching.

Judy chose the window seat, plumbing down on the fabric and closing her eyes. Nick could see by the furrow of her brows that she was thinking intently.

"So, um, we're we headed, Carrots?" he asked her.

"My place." she stated, eyes still closed.

It didn't take too long for them to arrive. Walking up to the house, Judy fished up her keys from the pocket of her jeans and turned the lock. Fortunately, the house wasn't very crowded. She could see one or two of her siblings in the kitchen, playing a board game, and a few others scattered around the living room. No one looked up when she entered, so she simply guided the russet fox up the stairs and into her room.

Nick looked around, a thoughtful look on his face. The bunny followed his gaze, landing on the pile of stuffed bunnies on her bed. Her ears reddened.

"That's… quite a lot a lot of stuffed animals." Nick commented, a smirk on his muzzle.

"Oh! Yeah, I should probably move those. I'm not sure why I even have them anymore. I mean, I do share very fond memories with Sir Richard and a couple others, but really-"

"You named them?" a laugh escaped Nick as his smirk grew into a full-fledged smile. "All of them?"

"Yes." Judy announced, standing her ground.

Judy could see a mischievous, calculating glint in the fox's eyes.

"I bet everyone at school would _love_ to hear about your big teddy collection." he taunted. "You'd get into the popular crowd just great."

"Nick Wilde, don't you dare! This stays between us." she put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

"Fine, fine, if you say so… Fluffbutt."

Judy fumed.

" _What_ did you call me?"

Nick confidently crossed his arms.

"Fluffbutt. Got a problem with that?"

"Yes." Judy stressed, taking a threatening step towards Nick. A flash of fear of the small bunny danced in his eyes, but he didn't budge. Instead, he took a step towards her, closing the space between them further.

"Well, I suggest you get over it, unless you want me to publicly embarrass you." Nick mused to her as he bent down to be at her eyelevel.

Grinding her teeth, Judy used the one come-back she had left.

"I believe I have the upper hand in this. Or do you not remember the reason that you actually are here?"

His ears flattened against his skull. The reaction caused Judy to cockily raise an eyebrow at him.

"No. You wouldn't."

"Oh, but maybe I would." Judy commented with a smirk almost as cocky as his own.

She didn't notice that she had taken another step until they were practically nose to nose. Her smirk faltered, and the sudden intimacy made her breath catch in her throat. For a short while, she was unable to say anything. Then, just as she was to pull away, the door opened.

Both heads snapped towards it. In the doorway stood a teenage bunny the same age as Judy.

"Ja-janine." Judy croaked. She quickly took a step back, nearly falling backwards. "I was just, I mean, we-"

"She's helping me with school work." Nick said.

"Yeah." Judy agreed, shooting a thankful glance towards Nick.

For a few seconds, Janine just stood there, shock clearly written across her face. Then, with raised eyebrows and a smug grin, Janine answered.

"Well, we can't leave the homework waiting, now can we? I'll leave you to your… studying."

The door closed and footsteps were heard, growing fainter and fainter.

"Sweet cheese and crackers." Judy sighed. "There's no way I'll be able to talk my way out of that one."

 **And that's chapter seven! Did you like it? Leave a review! Didn't you like it? Leave me a review and tell me what to improve!**

 **I had planned to write out the guest reviews and answer them as usual, but there are so many! (Thanks so much btw! Love you guys, you mean so much to me and the fact that you like my story makes me really happy) If you have a specific question I'll try and write it out here, but if there are too many, I advice you to get an account so that I can PM you instead.**

 **Until next time!**


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